The October picks were unusual for a number of reasons. Oprah’s new, more regular bi-monthly book club for Apple TV+ was the biggest outlier. Officially launching today, the “November selection” was announced September 23 and you could see the lift in the opening week of sales for Ta-Nehisi Coates’s novel. At the lower end of the commercial scale, Good Morning America followed the considerable success of their rivals at the Today Show with their own book club — announced quite modestly October 9, with little commercial response so far. Jenna Bush Hager, on the other hand, selected a book that […]
Holt and Holtzbrinck Agree Not to Pay Snowden Anything, for A While
Publisher Henry Holt and two German-based Holtzbrinck companies agreed in an order submitted along with the US Attorney General’s office to a Federal Court in Virginia that they would not pay out any proceeds to Edward Snowden or his representatives earned by his book Permanent Record prior to April 1, 2020. (For now that simply aligns with a normal royalty accounting schedule, though that is not mentioned in the order.) The submitted file does indicate that Holt licensed rights to the book from the German-based HIM Holtzbrinck 37, which is the originating contractual party with Snowden.
Negotiations Between Publishers and Audible Continue
Audible’s attorney reported to the court on Wednesday as promised, telling Judge Valerie Caproni that the publisher plaintiffs “responded yesterday” to Audible’s previous offer “with a counter-proposal, which Audible is now considering.” Once again, attorney Nicole Gueron asks the court to withhold ruling on the motions for a preliminary injunction (or a dismissal) pending the continuing discussions, promising another update on or before November 14.
Sargent Writes to Librarians with Respect, An Apology and No Change in eBook Windowing
As ALA leaders and some friends planned to visit Macmillan on Wednesday morning to drop off their petition with over 150,000 signatures objecting to the eight-week windowing of new-release ebooks to libraries that begins November 1, ceo John Sargent wrote to librarians in response to their abundant feedback. He opens, “First, I would like to apologize. It is clear to me that I should have written to all of you directly with our terms change. I meant no disrespect.” Sargent also makes clear that the company consulted with community members before finalizing its new policy: “Please know that this change […]
New Investor Eyes Barnes & Noble Education
Between late August and mid-October, James Barnes at BBA Holding Corp. built a position in Barnes & Noble Education, now at 5.07 percent of shares and thus requiring reporting to the SEC in a form 13D. Barnes controls approximately 2.4 million shares of the underperforming campus bookseller — and he also sold short puts on another 1.9 million shares expiring in 2020 at prices of between $2.50 a share and $5.00 a share (betting that the stock will stay above the put prices). After bottoming out at under $3 a share in early October, the stock now trades at $4.25 […]
Indigo’s Best Books of 2019
Right on schedule, Canada’s dominant bricks-and-mortar bookseller Indigo published their best books of 2019 package, including their top 10 books. Their No. 1 pick, from Canadian author Cherie Dimaline, has not been published yet in the US, but is due next summer from William Morrow: 1. Empire of Wild, by Cherie Dimaline 2. The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood 3. From the Ashes, by Jesse Thistle 4. The Huntress, by Kate Quinn 5. Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo 6. Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid 7. The Body, by Bill Bryson 8. The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides […]